Data

Question 1

what quantitative data

Answer 1

numerical data can be measured and statistically analysed and can be easily generalised to form a law of behaviour.
used by POSITIVISTS who aim to find patterns and test hypothesis

Question 2

what is qualitative data

Answer 2

descriptive and verbal in-depth data that explores meanings and experiences
used by INTEPRETIVISTS who focus on understanding social action

Question 3

what is primary data

Answer 3

data collected first hand by the researcher for a specific purpose
examples: interviews, questionaires, experiments

Question 4

pros and cons of primary data

Answer 4

pros: tailored to research, up to date
cons: time consuming and costly

Question 5

what is secondary data

Answer 5

data previously collected by someone else
examples: govt stats, media articles, previous research

Question 6

secondary data pros & cons

Answer 6

pros: quick, cheap, often large scale
cons: may be outdated, might not be relevant to current research